-Riya Ganguly

A day exclusively reserved for improving the welfare of children worldwide, World Children’s Day is annually celebrated on November 20, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration and the Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and 1989 respectively. First celebrated as the ‘Universal Children’s Day’ in 1954, World Children’s Day has now become a celebration of global proportions, as the event offers world leaders and children the chance to promote and advocate children’s rights and work towards ensuring a safer and brighter world for the future generation.

Every year, the UNICEF celebrates World Children’s Day with a wide host of activities planned towards wider child education, health initiatives and disease eradication campaigns. The UNICEF has declared the theme for this year’s World Children’s Day to be ‘A Better Future for Every Child’ and will aim to aid the recovery of children from the interruptions and learning losses posed by the pandemic since 2019. To promote greater awareness of child welfare and rights, schools, prominent buildings and monuments are lit in blue to show support for the cause. On this occasion, children around the world take on high-visibility roles in media, politics, sports and entertainment to help focus attention on child rights concerns.

As we speak about children’s rights and security, who better to represent them but kids themselves! On the occasion of the international observance, youngsters around the world raise their voices to the various obstacles in their way and create innovative solutions. UNICEF’s youth advocates are just some of the many children making a difference as global platforms like UNICEF have taken the help of social media such as TikTok to focus on the positive impact of youth advocacy on wider audiences. Meet the 12 UNICEF youth advocates of 2021 who aim to lead the way towards children’s welfare through innovative ways.

Rapping her way towards awareness, 17-year-old Brazilian MC Soffia raps on black pride, racism and female empowerment as she uses her innovative songs to confront world issues, while the youngest influencer chef in Morocco, 16-year-old ‘Chef’ Omar Archane has turned around his muscular dystrophy to strength as he spreads a culture of love and strength through his child rights advocation across Morocco and his homemade culinary videos. 18-year-old community leader Zeidello Atakuziev from Kyrgyzstan is known to generate awareness on overcoming his cerebral palsy to become a youth activist, and leading the way in LGBTQ+ activism, 16-year-old Ruairí Holohan from Ireland advocates for equality and awareness against discrimination and bullying.

17-year-old Makhtoum Abdalla is a Sudanese activist working towards equality in educational and healthcare access and 16-year-old Viktoria Kravets from Ukraine is a Child Mayor and mental health advocator who has helped promote child rights and child participation at the municipal level. There is also a burgeoning of passionate young climate activists as 17-year-old Norwegian Penelope Lea and 18-year-old Nkosilathi Nyathi from Zimbabwe work towards combatting climate change.

A young child rights advocate from Côte d’Ivoire, 15-year-old Jessica Gnamien is a young reporter committed towards the protection of children’s rights to life, education and development. 18-year-old Indonesian content creator and activist Olivina ‘Peachy Liv’ Maskan has efficiently taken to social media to support equality and improvement in education.

The youth advocates have also engineered unique and innovative ways to generate awareness about a wide range of issues; 18-year-old innovator from Tanzania, Emmanuel Cosmas Msoka is known for designing a unique hygiene-enhancing machine to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, while 14-year-old Pakistani environmental activist Zymal Umar founded and owns the innovative upcycling enterprise ‘Zee Bags’ which turns old newspapers to unique biodegradable bags.

Also read: Inspiring young activists changing the world